Wireless bizarreness [FIXED]

[red-e-made]

Well, I installed Mint 3.0 on my HP Compaq nx7300 and everything is working like a dream. I absolutely adore this OS. The only problem is my internet connection - I don't have one.

I have neither wired nor wireless, but to be honest I could do without a wired connection as I use wireless 99% of the time.

Running iwconfig in Terminal tells me that "eth1" is IEEE 802.11b/g, with the "Nickname" of "Broadcom 4311" - apparently Cassandra can see the wireless card perfectly well - the drivers should be installed.

The problem is, when I go to "Network Settings", it won't even let me click on "Wireless Connection". Selecting "Properties" for "Wireless Connection" shows me that "Enable roaming mode" is ticked, which I guess is the default setting. I was at a cafe today that had a wireless service that was working perfectly well for neighbouring costumers' laptops, but when I selected "Connect to Other Network" and typed in the "Network Name" the restaurant's wireless uses (no password was required, so for "Wireless Security" I left it at "None"), the reading was "Wireless network connection to 'Evropa' (0%)". When I selected "Create new wireless network" and did the same, again the reading was "Wireless network connection to 'Evropa' (0%)". Furthermore, when selecting "Create New Wireless Network" and leaving a "Network Name" of "redemade-laptop" and "Wireless Security" at "None", I get a reading of "Wireless network connection to '(unknown)' (0%)".

I'm really stumped here. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks very much in advance.

PS: Is there a way that the wireless can simply detect what wireless networks are out there, and allow me the choice of which one to select?

PPS: Sorry if this post seems like way too much information, but I figured too much would be better than too little when it comes to getting help.

[scorp123]

Well, I installed Mint 3.0 on my HP Compaq nx7300 .... Running iwconfig in Terminal tells me that "eth1" is IEEE 802.11b/g, with the "Nickname" of "Broadcom 4311"

Broadcom devices are unfortunately not "Linux-friendly". Try this thread: Although the author is writing about HP dv xxxx Pavilion laptops I think the instructions could apply to your HP/Compaq business laptop as well.

http://www.linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopi ... 7378#27378

[red-e-made]

Broadcom devices are unfortunately not "Linux-friendly". Try this thread: Although the author is writing about HP dv xxxx Pavilion laptops I think the instructions could apply to your HP/Compaq business laptop as well.

http://www.linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopi ... 7378#27378

I used my Windows PC to download the HP thingy, burn it to a CD, and then successfully got it onto my Linux laptop - whew!), I was informed that the bcmwl5.inf is already installed.

Huh?

I don't dare blacklist the bcm43xx module until I can get some more info on this.

Could it be that everything is actually working fine, and there is just some glaringly obvious yet simple thing I'm overlooking/not doing?

[scorp123]

Why a new topic? Why not stay in the thread? If you open a new topic everytime you post something about a problem following this discussion will be a pain-you-know-where for everyone else.

Posting merged back.

1 Problem = 1 Thread. OK? Thank you for your cooperation.

As for the problem itself ... Why not just follow the instructions? As far as I understand blacklisting that module is just a matter of editing a file. If you need to make that change undone you just edit the file back as it was before your change. You are not losing anything.

[red-e-made]

As for the problem itself ... Why not just follow the instructions? As far as I understand blacklisting that module is just a matter of editing a file. If you need to make that change undone you just edit the file back as it was before your change. You are not losing anything.

In following the instructions, which included installing the new driver, it turned out this driver was already installed - as I already said. You did read that far I take it, yes?

In the meantime, I did end up discovering that one can blacklist and un-blacklist without worries, so yeah. Thanks. I'll report back when I've reached a solution.

[scorp123]

In the meantime, I did end up discovering that one can blacklist and un-blacklist without worries, so yeah. Thanks. I'll report back when I've reached a solution.

You could try to reach the author of that other thread? I guess his and your hardware are very similar, so he'd probably be the right guy to help you with this.

[red-e-made]

You could try to reach the author of that other thread? I guess his and your hardware are very similar, so he'd probably be the right guy to help you with this.

I have sent him a message, but will post what I wrote here as well, to expand the number of people who might be able to help me beyond 1.

My laptop is using a Broadcom 4311. Following the instructions in the preivously mentioned thread, here's what happens:

1) I am told that bcmwl5.inf is already installed (?).

2) Running sudo /usr/lib/linuxmint/mintWifi/mintWifi.py tells me that bcmwl5.inf is an invalid driver.

3) Blacklisting bcm43xx erases the option to connect to wireless from the Network Manager.

xxx?

I'd also like to add that just turning on the machine, I can turn the blue light on and off and the network manager offers me all the options it's supposed to. And yet, I can't connect to any wireless networks.

ANYONE is welcome to offer their advice to this situation. This is getting really maddening.

[red-e-made]

I got it sorted at last and am posting this via Firefox on wireless, on my Cassandra-run laptop. A million thanks to everyone for their help.

Basically, I re-installed Mint and started anew, blacklisting bcm43xx and installing the bcmwl5 driver that rebster recommended. Works great.